Thunder Expected to Play Rested Starters When Bucks Visit Paycom Center

Overview

• The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Milwaukee Bucks at Paycom Center at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday in a preseason game that follows a night when OKC rested many high-minute players.
• Head coach Mark Daigneault said the rested players from the first night of the back-to-back are expected to suit up against Milwaukee and that the Thunder deliberately limit preseason minutes for core rotation players.
• OKC entered the preseason after trading Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe and adding rookies including Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, Otega Oweh and Josh Dix, moves that create questions about depth and replacement of Dort’s switchable defense.
• The Bucks reported no notable injuries and plan to use the game to evaluate young pieces, with second-year wing Ousmane Dieng singled out as a player to watch alongside projected starter Tyler Herro.
• The matchup is primarily evaluative for both teams and matters most as a test of OKC’s roster after offseason turnover and as an early look at how Milwaukee’s young players fit into coach Taylor Jenkins’s rotation.